


you were the song stuck in my head

by raviiel



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Between adventures, Campfires, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Light Angst, One-Sided Relationship, downtime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:01:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22705882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raviiel/pseuds/raviiel
Summary: Sky plays the harp, an instrument Time wishes he'd never seen in his life.
Relationships: Link/Malon (Legend of Zelda), Link/Sheik (Legend of Zelda), Malon (Legend of Zelda)/Time (Linked Universe), Time & Warriors (Linked Universe), Time/Sheik (onesided)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 43





	you were the song stuck in my head

**Author's Note:**

> **IMPORTANT:** due to the fact that i am uncontrollable and do what i want, the typical names for the incarnations of Link aren't used in this story, and likely won't ever be for any future fics of Linked Universe that i write. instead, i use **[these names](http://bit.ly/31xkyFH)**.
> 
> a quick rundown in order of mention: Taru (Legend), Caelestis (Sky), Erion (Wind), Kazu (Four), Tesni (Sun, Sky's Zelda), Olivier (Warriors), Artemis (Warrior's Zelda), Lorcán (Wild), Dysmas (Twilight), Horatio (Time), and Reidar (Hyrule)
> 
> it might be confusing at first, but i hope you'll get the hang of it!

"I always forget you play the harp too," Taru comments as Caelestis pulls out a golden lyre.

Erion perks up at the mention of music. "You need a conductor?"

Caelestis laughs, adjusting a few of his strings. "I don't think one person requires a conductor to play, and we don't even know the same songs!"

Erion scowls in return, putting his hands on his hips. "I can improvise! I'm a master conductor."

"You'll just throw him off beat." Taru rolls his eyes, and Erion immediately turns on him. Bickering quickly breaks out between them.

Ignoring them with a good-natured snort, Cael turns back to his harp. Kazu scoots over to his side, inspecting the build and shape. Firelight dances off the gold, casting an ethereal glow over the metal body.

"It's a beautiful instrument, who made it?" He asks.

Cael pauses tuning to frown in thought. "I have no idea. It's very old, but Tesni," he allows himself a small smile, the same as always when mentioning her, "lent it to me. I think she knew I got attached to it. They say," he plucks a few strings experimentally, "it belonged to the Goddess Hylia Herself."

Kazu cups his chin, golden gleam of the instrument reflecting rainbows in his irises. "I bet its made of a metal that never tarnishes. I'd like to meet the harper who made it."

"Actually," Olivier says, sidling into Cael's other side. "It looks kinda familiar..."

"Hmm?" Cael asks as a few more notes ring into the air.

Olivier leans back. "Yeah, Artemis wore a disguise and played a harp just like that. It even had the curled tips." He reaches out to trace his finger along the aforementioned tips of the golden arms. "Hers needed some mending though, it was in nowhere _near_ as good condition as this."

"Tes would never forgive me if something happened to it," Cael says sheepishly. "I got to be careful with it."

Olivier snickers.

"Oh, we having a music night?" Lorcán asks as he, Dysmas, and Horatio appear back at the camp.

"I can get my horse charm and play along," Dysmas pitches as the three of them settle in. Horatio pauses at the sight of the lyre, the reflecting firelight flickering in his single eye. He hums to himself.

"Dys, you only know how to play one song on it," Olivier teases.

"It's a classic!" Dysmas insists, getting down to elbow Olivier in the side. He gracefully rolls away, grinning.

"Alright, alright, not around the instrument," Kazu says, swatting them both away.

Reidar enters the camp too. Horatio looks up at him. "Everything clear on your side?"

He smiles. "Yeah, things look quiet tonight." He spots Cael making the final adjustments on the lyre. "Oh, it's pretty. I didn't know you could play instruments."

Cael looks at it, a little bashful. "No, no, just this one. And I only know a few songs. If you want to see a real master, you should see—"

"Tesni," a few of the boys chorus, and then laugh at Cael's ensuing embarrassment.

"You're like a broken record," Taru snorts, having broken off from his argument with Erion.

Ignoring him, Cael looks at the rest of the group. "I didn't even ask, is it alright if I play? I don't know what the perimeter looks like."

On cue, the others look to Horatio. He chuckles to himself about their unwitting synchronization. "I don't see why not. We're far from any human settlements and monster encampments, and the area looks clear. Let's have a song."

"You'd say anything for music, old man, we all know you love it," Olivier says. "We could be surrounded right now and you'd be all, 'I would love to dance. Someone play for me a merry jig.'" He wiggles around in a poor imitation of dancing.

"You look like a dying fish," Lorcán deadpans, and some of the boys snort.

Oli wheels on him. "I'll have you know that my dancing is _supreme,_ I was crowned _Best and Most Beautiful Dancer_ back in my Hyrule."

"The national dance of your Hyrule must be the Waltz of the Dying Fish then," Lorcán replies, and the snorting turns to full-on guffawing. Olivier is about to pounce when Horatio interrupts.

"I _said,_ let's have some music. Yes, we're surrounded, and I'd like to hear the beautiful sound of strings before I die."

The whole group pauses to look at him over the fire. He smirks back, drawing groans in response.

"Who even lets you joke around?"

"No sense of humor."

"Not even a good punchline!"

But it does work, and it does get everyone to gather around the fire and the log Caelestis is perched upon. He clears his throat awkwardly, unused to the crowd.

"Someone else could go first," Reidar suggests, looking around. "I know plenty of us know how to play instruments too." Some of the others hum in agreement.

Cael smiles gratefully. "No, that's alright. I wanted to play for you guys anyway. I've just never played for so many people at once."

Erion claps and smiles. "Go on then! You're gonna do great."

With a deep breath and a nod, Cael quickly decides on one of the few songs he knows. The first few notes ring out, meek and clumsy because of his nerves, but he imagines all the times he played this for Tesni and how she played it for him in turn, and it's not long before muscle memory gladly takes over.

Everyone is quiet as the gentle brilliancy of the melody cascades over them, seeming to command the flames of their campfire as an unsuspecting harmonizer. The warm timbre diffuses peace as if by lullaby, and it's not long before a few of them are sinking into it, letting it lull them away from the day's wears. Cael himself is soothed by it, reminded of home and the people he loves, and homesickness' perpetual weight eases a little.

The song ends, and he breathes out.

Some of the boys clap but not loud enough to wake Erion, Lorcán, Reidar, and Dysmas, who have already dozed into the night by the time it's over. Cael smiles, bowing his head in gratefulness and bashfulness. When he looks back up, it's right at Horatio, whose eyes are averted towards the night sky, gleaming with wistfulness. He frowns.

"Horatio, is something wrong?"

The others look at him, who quickly snaps from whatever reverie had been holding him in the stars. He glances around, as if realizing the state of things for the first time.

"Hmm? Not at all. It was a beautiful song, Caelestis." He smiles. "It's been a long time since I've heard a harp. I forgot you had one with you."

Olivier grins and leans around the fire to look at him slyly. "What, remind you of an old flame, old man?"

Horatio looks him square in the eye, self-deprecation tinging the smile now. "As a matter of fact, yes."

Taken aback, Olivier blinks. Kazu, Taru, and Cael are equally rendered speechless before exchanging glances.

"...Not Miss Malon?" Cael asks slowly, hoping judgment doesn't taint his tone.

Horatio chuckles knowingly. "Don't sound so concerned. Malon knows everything about me."

Taru opens his mouth.

"Yes, even this."

Taru closes his mouth.

Recovered from the surprise, Olivier obnoxiously wiggles over. "Well? Don't hold out on us, old man. Tell us!"

Kazu shushes him to not wake the others, but looks back to Horatio as well. "Admittedly, I'm curious too. I never thought about you having old loves."

Horatio laughs softly, head tipping to the sky. "I think _love_ is a bit of a strong word for it."

Undying curiosity radiates off the others in _waves,_ and Horatio sighs; no getting out of this one, he supposes. He glances back at the stars.

"Well... I suppose you could say something like that." Wistfulness glazes over his eye again. "I met this person on my journey. In fact, after I woke up again, they were the first person I met. They were... a guide, of sorts—it's thanks to them I even knew what I was doing half the time." He chuckles. "Some hero they must've thought me, with the way I wandered off everywhere. And when I'd end up somewhere new, they were always there to tell me how to come back, as if they'd been waiting for me. Every step of the way, it felt like... they were there. A lot of my journey was in isolation, but we'd meet again, and they'd stay with me a while. Talk to me. Soothe my wounds." He glances pointedly at Cael's lyre. "Play for me. Back then, I think it was a balm for my soul."

Kazu, Caelestis, Olivier, and Taru listen, enraptured by Horatio's words. Considering how far behind him his journey is these days, he never talks about it. _Because_ how far away it is now, he'd rather work on focusing on the present.

"I owe them a lot," he goes on, and then laughs as if at some secret joke. "My life, even, many times over."

Having sensed that's as far as the story will go, Taru quietly asks, his stomach sinking, "...What happened to them?"

All trace of amusement fades from Horatio's face. The light dims in his eye. Like a weight long-forgotten settling, his shoulders shift down. The others hold their breath, hoping for an outcome that beats their expectations. Horatio hums again.

"Well... I guess you could say they died."

Silence. The fire crackles, snapping harshly at the air.

An exasperated sigh heaves out. Taru speaks up again. "Why is it _every time_ I learn something new about you, I regret it immediately?"

Surprised laughter bursts out of Horatio. "Sounds like a personal problem to me. Anyway," he looks back at Cael and his harp. "They played the harp too, just as beautifully as you do."

Cael can't help smiling under the praise despite a new bruise on his heart. He looks at Horatio through his eyelashes. "Thanks... I'm sorry about what happened to them. If I'd known, I'd—"

Horatio waves him off, stirring to take first watch of the night. "Don't beat yourself up over it. It was nice to hear those strings again, especially when I mostly play woodwinds." On his feet, he claps his hands a few times. "Come on now, it's time to rest. I'll take first watch."

Olivier gets to his feet too. "Me too." The others look at him in surprise. "What? It means I get uninterrupted sleep afterwards." He waves them off with a roll of his eyes.

  
  


It's a quiet night. Much of Olivier's early patrolling is spent pacing. The others have turned in and Horatio has settled down to rest his back on the log Cael performed on earlier.

Curse his natural cheekiness. When it comes to talking about their adventures to save Hyrule, Horatio is just as vague as anyone—maybe even more so. Olivier knows he'd been young at the start, younger even than when they'd first met on the battlefields after he'd come through one of the Gates.

A broken love story... Olivier knows a thing or two about that.

He paces until he can't anymore, until he's sure ten-fold that their camp is secure for the night.

Casual as can be, he works his way over to Horatio and plops down at his side, tilting his head to watch the night sky like the other had done earlier. Silence sits with them until he works up the nerve to speak. His tongue feels heavy and clumsy as he does.

"...Sorry about before."

Horatio doesn't answer at first, and Olivier wonders if he might be upset. Dread twinges at his stomach.

Then, Horatio glances over with his good eye. "Why the apology?"

Gaze firmly kept on the stars to avoid feeling scrutinized, Olivier takes a deep breath and replies.

"I can be... Y'know." He swallows, throat just this side of too thick, and then makes a noise of frustration, searching for better words than an excuse. "I mean that—If I'd _known_ about them being... at rest, I never would've teased you about it." Where one of his arms rests back on the log, his fingers pick at the dead bark. "...I'm sorry for your loss."

Horatio allows himself a small smile. "Don't be." He looks up at the sky too, head at a softer angle than Olivier's, and rests his forearms on raised knees. "To tell you the truth, they aren't dead."

Bewildered, Olivier snaps to look at him. "Then why did you—?"

"Lie?" He asks. "I didn't—Not exactly. It's true that this person isn't with us anymore, but more than that... They were never real."

Olivier stares. Cold bitterness tinges the undertone of his words; a story lays behind them, one that sounds long, wearisome, and tragic. Just like with Cael's harp, it makes him think of his Zelda's time spent disguised as Sheik.

"Somehow... That sounds even worse," he murmurs, more to himself than Horatio.

"I have to admit it, it is."

Endlessly taken off guard by the oldest of their group, Olivier looks at Horatio with wide eyes. Flames dance off the plains of his sharp face, contorting his steely expression into mirrors of grief, betrayal, longing, and resignation. It's disorienting. He opens his mouth without being able to stop himself. Horatio doesn't look at him.

"Do you still—?"

Now Horatio does look at him.

"Do you want to know?"

Olivier can't look away fast enough, grounding himself by training on Horatio's wedding ring, so gold and beautiful and promising. It doesn't give him any answers he hoped it would.

  
  


A quiet that might be only uncomfortable for Olivier passes the rest of their shift. At the end, Horatio is on his feet first. He dusts himself off and offers a hand down. Olivier can't stop staring at his wedding ring, subconsciously begging it to tell him something to ease his guilt.

"Taru and Erion can take second shift, they need to make up anyway." Horatio half-smiles. Olivier returns it, if a little ill at ease.

They exchange with the other two Links before turning in for the night themselves. Olivier settles in, expecting to sleep restlessly. It's only right as he's falling asleep does that change.

"Sometimes I think of what could have been," Horatio murmurs to him, slow, weary, and somber. "But I wouldn't exchange my present for anything in the world."

It's enough to quell Olivier's uneasiness.

Mostly, anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> so glad to finally post this! i was getting real sick of it hanging around on my computer, haha! anyway, i hope you enjoyed it! if you have any questions about the names and meanings, most of them can be answered in the document i linked at the beginning, but feel free to ask in the comments anyway :^)
> 
> anyway i don't want people to think that i have anything against Malon, i don't! as a character, i love her. i'm just not the malink boat, even tho in LU it's super adorable.
> 
> p.s. if you liked these names and they interested you, feel free to use them in your own LU fics! i worked long and hard on them, and i'd be so happy if people used them! you can find me on twitter at [FIERC3DEITY](https://twitter.com/FIERC3DEITY) or tumblr at [fiercerdeities](https://fiercerdeities.tumblr.com/). thanks for reading!


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